Building drops after strong showing

Recovery in the house building industry took a step back in March after a strong performance in February.

Figures from Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) yesterday show an 8.3 per cent fall from February in the seasonally adjusted number of new dwellings authorised in March, excluding apartments. In February, the number had risen 9.8 per cent.

When apartments were included, the seasonally adjusted number of new dwellings authorised in March dropped just 0.4 per cent, following a 5.8 per cent rise in February.

The actual figures showed a total of 1501 dwellings approved in March, of which 75 were apartments. That was an increase of 37.6 per cent in total numbers from a year earlier, and an increase of 44.5 per cent when apartments were excluded.

Residential building consents were worth $528 million in March, 29 per cent higher than a year earlier.

Non-residential consents were worth $345 million, up 3.9 per cent from March 2009, with consents for education buildings up $39 million and for storage buildings up $30 million, while consents for offices were down $36 million.

The value of all consents issued in March was $873 million, up 18 per cent from a year earlier, SNZ said.

For the year to March, the number of new dwellings, excluding apartments, was up 1.2 per cent from a year earlier to 14,166 units. Including apartments, the total was down 5.3 per cent to 15,381, the lowest annual March total since 1981. Apartment approvals fell 46 per cent to 1215 for the 12 months, compared to the year earlier, the lowest annual total for a March year since 1996.

The value of residential consents fell 3.9 per cent to $5.42 billion for the March year, the lowest annual total since 2002. Non-residential consents fell 5.1 per cent for the year to $4.33 billion, while consents for all buildings fell 4.4 per cent to $9.75 billion.

- NZPA